Former Audi CEO Rupert Stadler has been officially charged by German prosecutors for his involvement in VW Group’s emissions cheating scandal.
Reuters reports that the public prosecutor’s office in Munich, Germany, said that Stadler along with three other defendants are being charged with fraud, false certification and criminal advertising practices.
“Defendant Stadler is accused of having been aware of the manipulations since the end of September 2015 at the latest, but he did not prevent the sale of affected Audi and VW vehicles thereafter,” the prosecutor said in a statement.
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The prosecutors added that Stadler’s indictment relates to around 250,000 Audi models, 112,000 Porsches and 72,000 VW cars that were illegally fitted with the aforementioned software and sold both in the US and Europe.
Back in September 2015, VW Group admitted that it used illegal software to alter the results of its diesel-powered vehicles during emission testing. The scandal has already costed the German car maker around $33.5 million (30 million euros).
In addition, Audi admitted the use of an auxiliary control device in models fitted with the 3.0-liter V6 TDI engine, which was deemed illegal in the United States.
Stadler was arrested in June 2018, with VW Group later terminating his contract, replacing him with Bram Schot in December 2018.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, Stadler has denied any wrongdoing, as well as Wolfgang Hatz, former development chief at Porsche and former head of powertrain at Audi, who’s also reportedly been charged by the prosecutors.
